We've lost a friend

Buffalo News sports reporter Tom Borrelli passed away Thursday morning following complications from his fall at All High Stadium on Nov. 8.

Tom is perhaps best known around here as the beat reporter for the Buffalo Bandits. But he also covered high school and college events, amateur football and the like. He knew where every Western New York athlete went to school to play ball, and kept track of them throughout their careers. He not only worked his job, he lived it. A pro's pro.

News photographer Bill Wippert put it best: Tom was hurt on the job, doing what he loved most. Covering a game.

And on top of that, he always remembered our birthdays, the special events in our lives, with a card or a note or a gift. Just go back to Liz Kahn's blog when Tommy was first hospitalized, or Keith McShea's posting, to get more insight.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Karen, his father, George, and his brother, George Jr.

---Steve Jones, Sports Editor

Comments

[Doug Fritts]

This is an incredibly sad day for all of us at the National Lacrosse League. Tom was a great colleague and friend to all of us here. It was a great honor for us to make him the first member of the media to be a part of the league's Hall of Fame. Rest in peace Tom, you will be missed and remembered always.

[Bruce]

I want to express my deepest sympathy to you and the rest of the Buffalo News team . I can only imagine your sense of loss in this tragedy. My thoughts and prayers will be with you and with Mr. Borrelli's family.

Darrell F. Kaminski, P.E.
Regional Design Engineer
NYSDOT Region 5 - Buffalo

[Steve Rudnicki]

Tom was always a pleasure to deal with when he came to cover the Griffs at Canisius College. A true professional he was passionate about not only lacrosse, but all local college sports and the student-athletes as well. It is reporters like Tom at the Buffalo News that made working in the business a pleasure each and every night. He will be greatly missed.

[Robb McMahon]

As a fan of the Philadelphia Wings, I always enjoyed reading Tom's articles when I was in Buffalo for a game. NOBODY covered the game like him. He will be missed tremendously. My deepest sympathies go out to his family in this time of grieving.

[Scott]

My deepest sympathy for Mr. Borrelli's family and his family & freinds at the news.He sounds like a great guy who will be missed. A tragic situation is even more tragic because it could have been prevented. Looking at those photos and hearing of similar accidents in the pasts makes many of us wonder why something wasn't done before now. Very sad.

[Michael Gormley]

Ox was unforgettable. I worked with him 20 years ago in Binghamton and I look at his photo over Bucky's column and hear Ox's voice clearly. I remember hanging out watching a game with Ox and a bunch of us from the paper and Ox was on the couch, keeping score. No one even said a word. It was just Ox. He also told incredible stories dramatically and hilariously. I remember one he told about the sports guy who was fired and spent his mandatory exit interview asking the human resources director in detail about her job and how she did it, annoying her to no end. He also played a role in tossing a bicyle over a bathroom stall to wake up a colleague late in a shift, but it's a story only Ox could give justice. I also remember the softball game when Ox was up to bat and our boss _ not a real likeable guy _ said, `I bet you're going to hit a line drive right at my head.' Everyone laughed. The pitch came and Ox hit a line drive right at his head. Our prayers are with you Karen. Mike Gormley, Albany

[Steve Randall]

I knew Ox from his days at the Binghamton Press, where because of his love of LaCrosse he gave my SUNY Binghamton club lacrosse team better coverage than some of the varsity sports at the university. He was a great guy and i was blessed to have known him. My condolances to his wife, family and friends.

[Matt Mendelsohn]

I'm sitting in a hotel in Florence, Italy and I'm in a state of shock. I haven't talked to Ox since I worked as a photographer at the Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin in the late eighties but I can see that devilish smile like it was yesterday. What a guy. He was a sports reporter who absolutely loved what he did, whether covering big time sports or a high school track meet. And boy, did he do it well.

Ox was a good friend in those days and we spent many a late night unwinding after deadline at the Denny's across Vestal Parkway. We probably both had one too many chocolate shakes.

Tom was a great reporter but he was an even better practical joker, and I was on the receiving end of them more than once. There was the time I moved into a new apartment near the Press and Ox left a bottle of some skunk scent, purchased from a hunting store, open in the empty living room. That smell was still there when I moved out.

Ox was also responsible for me calling a certain editor at the Press, who I think was about 90 at the time, 15 consecutive times. It was my first week there and I kept getting messages from Ox to call this guy and I kept falling for it each time. Even now, decades later, I can still see that cheshire cat grin on Ox's face as I said, "Are you sure, Tom? He didn't seem to know why I called."

"Hmmmm," said Ox. "That's strange. He said it was really important. Try one more time." And then that smirk. How could I have not known?!

No one was immune from Tom's tricks--not John Fox, not Geoff Hobson and certainly not Charlie Jaworski. He would have told the Pope his shoelace was untied if the chance arose.

I'm on a holiday in Italy right now and this was certainly not the news I expected to read as I checked Romenesko. My thoughts are with Tom's family and I will light a candle in the Duomo for him first thing in the morning.

Rest in peace, Tom.

Your buddy, Matt Mendelsohn

[John Bohn]

Ox was indeed an amazing individual! Larger than life in so many ways. As I write on a tear-soaked keyboard I move between feelings of absolute sadness at his passing to humorous memories of Ox's outrageous sense of humor. I too, had the pleasure of experiencing life with Ox in Binghamton during the 80s. Just yesterday, I was asked if I had started my Christmas shopping...My response was in the form of a fondly remembered story of Ox and myself doing all of our shopping on Christmas Eve at a local mall. Stories about Ox, even to people who never had the pleasure of his company, never fail to generate hearty and healthy laughter. Ox will live on in all of us. I have no doubt that Tom brought a pinch of "Itchy Coo" brand itching powder with him to Heaven.

My prayers are also with you Karen.

John Bohn Boston

[Teresa Buckley]

I worked with Ox 20 years ago in Binghamton. Seeing all those other blog posts brings back lots of memories of some good people. But Ox really was larger than life. Yes, the military recruiters and the itching powder and the pizzas were all true. I also recall his great love of Heart and Stevie Nicks. In the short time between my leaving Binghamton for Albany and his return to Buffalo, he visited me so we could go to a Stevie Nicks concert. Ox couldn't have been happier with the show. I also remember Karen's foray into romance novels. I could just picture Tom in an easy chair, scoring 3 games at once, and Karen at her keyboard, writing a bodice ripper. They were perfect together.

[Jim Odato]

Ox was his self-created nickname. He named everyone else, too, back then, when we were in our 20s. There was Cheese because Rick hailed from Philadelphia; Corky, because Ron came from California, land of surfers; and I was Spud, because I was short and liked to play hoop, not because I could dunk like Spud Webb.
After a while, we forgot our real names. So years later, when I got to Buffalo and people were calling Ox by his given name, it took me a
while to catch up. Actually, I never did, and he always responded to his chosen nickname, which I assumed he had given himself because of his strong physique and determination. Those characteristics were employed in some of his more devious activities. I was a witness to some of those pranks and never the target. For both of those things I am grateful. I am fortunate to have played and worked with the guy. He was a cast of characters.

[Diane]

My condolences to Mrs. Borrelli, please. I have followed this since I first read it in the news. My son, John Vogl, has kept me informed, and I my heart has gone out to Mrs. Borrelli from the start.

[Budd Bailey]

Wanted to add link to a couple of longer rememberances: one by Tom's former co-worker, Elmer Ploetz, and my own. They are at http://fredjour.blogspot.com/2008/11/tom.html and http://buddbailey.blogspot.com/2008/11/one-of-good-guys.html respectively.

We won't forget you, Tom.

[Leo Roth]

It's Monday and everyone has said their goodbyes, but Tom was a man you don't forget. Big, blustery, playful, the consummate sports journalist...I have an ache that won't leave...Tom and I worked at the Buffalo State Record 30 years ago, I was the sports editor, he covered men's basketball like nobody else...We roomed for a spell near Cleveland, Ohio, working for rival papers, making little money and missing home. Tom made those days bearable with an incredible sense of humor. He put itching powder on his bosses desk...for one entire summer, he called scores into a fictitious youth baseball league and got them in print. The league director was a so-called "Mr Dojoz.'' If the scores were late, the old sports editor would cry out, 'Damn it, when's Dojoz going to call?'
Even though we worked at papers 90 miles apart in Buffalo and Rochester, our paths didn't cross much over the past 20 years...But Tom was the kind of guy you just picked up where you left off. Tom, I'll miss you. God go with you. Much blessings to Karen, George Sr. and Jr., and Tom's second family, The News Sports Staff.
Leo Roth, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

[Jim Keller]

Leo- You captured Tom's spirit precisely. He was a tough-talking Teddy Bear and definitely a guy you could pick up with... even after years had gone by. We have suffered a great loss.

[Jon Santucci]

I had the honor of being an intern at the News in the summer of 99 and got to work with Tom. I learned a lot of from him and truly enjoyed working with him. I'll never forget the last week I was there, I made a mistake at deadline and he laid into me pretty good. It was alright, I deserved it. But I was more impressed with the fact that the next day he came and apologized. He didn't need to, it was just the kind of guy he was. I remember our chats about his passion for the Leafs and his collection of programs. When I heard the news, I was shocked. My dad asked me if I remembered him. I told him about the guy who came and apologized even when he didn't need to. My thoughts and prayers go out to Karen and his family.

[Don DePerro]

I graduated from St. Joe's a year behind Tom and since I took a year off, graduated from Buffalo State two years behind him. We worked together at The RECORD newspaper at Buffalo State, and I interned at The News in the summer of 1981, during which Tom's father George was a great help to me.
Here's a great story that is Tom Borrelli all the way.
Since I was news editor and then editor at The RECORD, I was part of the management team notified that our long-distance bill was out of control. Somebody has gotten hold of the long-distance code and called cities all over the country.
We were going to have to fork over hundreds of dollars (long-distance calls were very expensive in 1979!) in advertising revenue to cover these long-distance calls.
I'll never forget the day Tommie walked into the small newspaper offices on the Buff State campus and accused me of making these calls. I screamed at him: "Tommie, I don't even know people in these cities!"
As it turned out, Tom himself had come into the office very early for several days and phoned every Major League team, obtaining their schedules and apparently buying tickets for what would turn out to be an extended summer road trip to watch babseball games.
It was vintage Tom Borrelli allllll the way! And, of course, Tommie finagled a way out of paying for the long-distance calls himself. Tom was such a big help to the sports department at our student newspaper that the cost of these calls was probably a suitable stipend for all of his work.
I've enjoyed reading Tom's work at The News, and will miss him terribly. He was one of the most lovable curmudgeons I've ever known.
Our hearts go out to George, Tom's wife, and their family.
I send my deepest condolences from Columbus, Ohio.
Don DePerro

[kitka]

It's taken me a long time to post a comment because it's been such a shock ... I'm another Press & Sun-Bulletin alumnus and I also remember the itching powder, the pranks, the triple-mayo ordered for for Jim's mustard-only sub, the after-deadline bowling expedition where Ox threw his bowling ball in the air so it landed about 10 feet down the lane - what a racket! I also remember a dear friend whose loyalty and passion for life was unsurpassed. My sympathies to his family and friends,
Mary (Reilly) Hoover, Austin, TX.